They needed saving
by KatofDresden
Summary: AU for Twilight. Bellla is not in the only new girl in Forks this semester, the Hale twins have just arrived as well. As Bella tries to understand better her new boyfriend Edward, she also starts to notice something dark about the twins' home life. Bella, Jasper and Rosalie are human, the Cullens are vampires. Canon pairings, Bella/Jasper friendship.
1. Chapter 1

Bella was kind of happy, now that the foucs was pulled from her and into this new girl. She was much more interesting than her anyway, smart, confident and gorgeous. Rosalie Hale, the woman, the mystery. She was also a twin, but that bit of fascination had died out fast. Mostly because Jasper, the other twin, wasn't as much fun as her. He was shy, barely spoke and hid behind his shoulder-length blonde hair. He was distant, but smart. Although he seemed to be to be daydreaming half of the time, he always got the answers right when teachers asked him. Another mystery, but one people weren't so eager to unravel.

Bella liked Jasper. She'd been paired off with him a couple of times and even though they hadn't spoken much, she'd quickly grown fond of the boy. He knew when to leave her to her anger when she was angry, say something uplifting when she was sad. He never seemed to judge anyone and always knew how to harmonise with her emotions. It was hard to believe that he was related to Rosalie, much less to think they had practically the same DNA. The resemblance was clear in the physical department, but personality wise they were like the sun and the moon.

Rosalie spoke a lot, and seemed to be the centre of attention no matter where she went. A born leader, cheerleading captain, perfect and appropiate in everything she did. She'd developed a kind of entourage in a matter of days. Boys were lining up to ask her out, and she rejected most of them. _If you want a shot with me, you must be at least my equal_, she said. And apparently very few people fit that description. It was baffling for Bella, how professionally and calmly she handled the situation, while she had no idea what to do with only one suitor.

She liked Edward and talking with him, although sometimes he made her nervous. How he would appear out of nowhere. That really intense look he got sometimes, as if he was restraining himself from jumping out of the window or something. But he was nice, and it was nice that he'd shown some interest in her. If only she kew how to flirt back.

One strangely sunny day, he didn't appear in class. His brother and sister were missing too, so she guessed they had a family thing of some sort. She couldn't help thinking about him, wishing he was here. He was on her mind too often. At least there was Jasper, although he wasn't much fun. But Bella had found out that he was a pretty good judge of charcter, and decided to ask him.

"What do you think of Edward?"

"Why would it matter what I think?"

He did that a lot, also. Answered questions with questions, tried not to offend anyone, unlike his sister, who never cared who she offended. Her opinion was of the paramount importance. (Ok, so maybe Bella didn't like Rosalie all that much. Maybe she thought she was too much of an attention seeker. Maybe.)

"Just humor me." She said, and that did the trick. Jasper started speaking.

"There is something strange about him and his siblings. As if they lived with another intensity, and as if they were from another time. Like these hippies you see going to organic store things with handmade clothes and think they should had been born in the sixties, not now. And Edward... I don't know. He's intelligent, but there's something weird about him, emotionally. Too controlling, too haughty. Like the kind of person lives a righteous life, but looks down on people who don't. But what do I know?"

Jasper always had an interesting insight of things, but only bothered to tell you if you asked first. Bella decided to heed his words, to remember to put an stop to Edward's controlling-ness if they ever actually properly dated.

"Have you ever had a girlfriend, Jasper?" Bella asked, suddenly curious. He was good/looking enough and had a tortured aura that was kind of appealing. She wondered what would be like, to be on a date with a guy that only spoke when spoken to.

"There was someone." he said, almost in a whisper. "Did more harm than good."

She didn't ask any further, troubled by his sad tone, although she wondered what had happened. Bella had seen a some scars in his wrists and neck and some fainter ones in his face. She was curious, and hoped one day to be close enough with him to find out what happened. Unlike with Edward, there wasn't any of this _unresolved romantic tension _with him. She was never going to have anything romantic with Jasper. And that was okay for both of them, without any unrequited feelings drama. Just two not-so-popular kids bonding.

But relationships were supposed to be good, and she would like someone as awkward as her going through the same thing while she ventured in this new _couple-y_ world. An ally.

"I've seen Alice Cullen checking you out a couple of times. Maybe you could ask her out."

"Really? Alice Cullen? But... she's so...lively. Why would she be interested in me?"

"Because you're the mystery guy." Bella said, trying to sound fun. It was easy to make jokes with Jasper, because she didn't feel like she was going to screw up. He was pleased with whatever.

"You may be confusing me with your gentleman caller, also known as her brother. I'm not mysterious, just plain old boring. That's why I like you so much."

"How dare you?" Bella said, with mock indignation. For some reason, he made her feel at ease when she was anxious. Maybe she should try to convince Alice to ask him out, so they could become some sort of political family. Ugh. She hadn't been on a single date with Edward and she was already planning her political family. _Way to get overexcited about a guy who's just shown some interest, Bella_.

Rosalie looked in her direction, assessing the situation. The only times she even glanced in her direction was when she was with her brother. She looked, checked that everything was okay with Jasper, then went back to being fabulous. She seemed oddly protective of him, although she wasn't older - they were the same age. Maybe it had to do with whatever caused his scars. She didn't have any. There was something strange about that, too, something strange about both of them.

Maybe she was reading too much into it. Maybe he had just fallen while playing as a kid and Rosalie didn't look all that often. Maybe.

Then the incident with the van happened, where Edward saved her and she met her father. They got closer, and even dated. And Bella got closer to Alice, as well, which was nice.

She was like Jasper had described - lively. She seemed to be speaking all the time and happy about everything. Enthusiastic about cars, clothes, boys, anything and everything. She insisted on taking Bella shopping, even if she understood she wasn't as big a fashion animal as her. Told her she was her best friend now. Emmett was welcoming too, even if Bella was a bit intimidated by his size. But he was so goofy, like a teddy bear. A teddy bear with muscles who joked about everything. The thing was, she welcomed in the Cullen family, and she liked it.

But sometimes she needed some silence, something calm, and she went to Jasper. He hadn't made a lot of friends, which was logical taking into account how shy and quiet he was but a bit sad. Bella wished he was with her and the Cullens when they joked or pretended to make homework while talking about films. But he remained solitary and mostly silent, but a good shoulder to lean on. Someone who let her copy when she didn't do an assignment, someone who would listten to her rants about Edward and the mystery surrounding him and seem genuinely interested.

But then, one week, Jasper stopped going to class. Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday. Thursday Bella wondered if it was more than just the flu. Friday and there was no sign of him. Five days and he hadn't come. There was a shadow on Rosalie's pale eyes - she was less talkative.

Something was wrong.

A/N: Hope you enjoyed! Please do leve a review! Thanks for reading!


	2. Chapter 2

Bella spent some time wondering what she should do. She wanted to ask about her friend, but Rosalie could be a little intimidating. But if she didn't know, she would spend all weekend worried and Edward would notice and tell her it was nothing and... She should really ask.

So she went to her, to that idol of sunray and perfection that was Rosalie Hale, and gently touched her shoulder to get her attention. Rosalie turned around and when she saw it was her she raised an eyebrow.

"What do you want?"

Hell, she was even more scary up close that in the distance. And didn't seem to like Bella much. But she'd made it here and now she had to ask. _Be brave, Bella._

"Hi... eh, I just wanted to know why Jasper isn't coming this week? Does he have the flu or something?" That's it, she'd gotten it all out. Well done.

Rosalie's expression softened a bit when Bella mentioned Jasper's name. It was almost unnoticeable, but it was there. Still, she mantained her superior demeanor - Bella figured it was her default way of being.

"He hasn't been feeling good. He'll probably be back by Monday, though."

She hadn't told Bella what actually was wrong with him but she didn't have the guts to press it. The bad part was that it made her feel it was serious. Poor Jasper - he'd always been sweet with her, even let her copy after she'd been hanging too long with the Cullens and forgotten to do schoolwork. She wanted to be there for the guy, too. Being sick sucked. And then something occured to her.

"I could come by to visit, if you want. I make a mean chicken soup."

"No." Rosalie said inmediately. "Our... father doesn't allow visits - he's very strict. Sorry. But it was nice of you to offer, Bella. I'll tell him, I'm sure he'll appreciate it."

No visits? Bella felt even worse for her friend. Sick and with only cold Rosalie and a super strict father for company all week.

"Yes, tell him. And tell him that I need him back, that they put me with Mike Newton this week he wasn't here and Mike's much slower in getting the answers... Jasper has spoilt me. Tell him to get well soon."

"I will."

Bella let out a breath she hadn't known she'd been holding. She'd done it. She'd talked to Rosalie and hadn't been mouthed off or anything. And she said Jasper would probably be back on Monday. That was good.

"Bella" Rosalie's voice called, when Bella was already returning to her seat. _Oh, boy_. What had she done now? She turned around and faced the still serious Rosalie.

"Yes?"

"Thank you for asking." the blonde said. "There aren't many people who appreciate my brother."

Bella breathed, again. It was something good.

"No problem. He's cool, if you get through all the silence and shyness."

"I guess that's right." Rosalie smiled, and Bella thought it was the first time since they arrived when the blonde had a sincere smile.

Then she went home and met Edward, and Rosalie and Jasper's weird little things seemed nothing compared to the Cullens. There was something really weird about them, about the whole family. They were always missing when it was sunny, even if they had made plans before. Which was weird. What were the odds of five people having extreme photophobia? Pretty slim. And if they were photophobic, why didn't they say so? Edward's dad was a doctor, after all, he probably knew everything about it.

And they never went out to eat either, she never saw any of them eating, or drinking. Not even a sad little from Starbucks. How was Alice such a continued force of nature if she never ate? Were they some type of weird vegan club who couldn't show their eating habits to outsiders. And there were other weird things about them, too. Like Edward bending the van or being way too fast. And Emmett worked out and had muscles, but jeez. That amount of physical strength was downright excessive. And come think of it, they never seemed to go to the bathroom much. Gods, what kind of people were they? Robots in disguise?

The next day, saturday, Bella was getting ready to meet Jacob and his friends. His dad was glad that she wasn't all the time with the Cullens and she was glad to see her old friend. She was packing when she got a call from an unknown number. She would have never guessed who it was in a million years.

"Hello, Bella? It's Rosalie. Emmett gave me your number."

"H- hi?" Not the most intelligent answer, but Bella was just shocked. Rosalie was seeking her out? Why?

"Listen, we're alone at home for the day, so if you still want to visit Jasper you can come today. "

Bella considered it for a bit. He'd want to see Jake, but see sensed this could be the only chance she'd get to see Jasper's house and was curious. Besides, she could see Jacob anytime, when another of her friends wasn't sick.

"Ok, I'll make some nice soup and go over there."

"I'll text you the address. But Bella, one more thing. Don't tell too many people you're coming. If it gets back to _him_ that you've been here we could be in a lot of trouble."

Get in trouble because a sick boy had a friend over? What kind of family was that?

"Ok, I guess. See you later."

Rosalie hung up and Bella started cooking. She was curious at what Jasper and Rosalie's house was like. She wondered if their rooms were as different as they were, or as fancy as Edward's. Probably not. The Cullen were more wealthy than it looked like (that house on the woods! Those cars!) and Rosalie and Jasper didn't wear elegant clothes, or a lot of clothes. Their house probably resembled more hers than the Cullen's.

When Bella arrived at the address she'd been texted, Rosalie was waiting for her on the front door, nervously looking on both directions, seeing if someone had noticed the visit coming. The house was relatively small and isolated, which was good, becuase it meant there were no neighbors to gossip. Rosalie took her inside without a single hello.

The house was indeed small, and the walls were quite bare. Bella noticed that there wasn't single picture of Jasper and/or Rosalie in the hall or living room. Not a single indication that they actually lived there. Odd. It had been three months already, and everything else looked like a normal house. The only decorative items were hunting gear and prizes - all related to hunting too. Where were Jasper and Rosalie's things?

The two girls stopped in front of a white wooden door, where Rosalie told Bella to wait while she checked if Jasper was awake. Rosalie closed the door, but Bella could still hear the conversation on the other side. She figured that because they had no visitors, they didn't know how thin the walls actually were. Well, she'd been asked to wait there, so...

"Hey, your friend Bella came to see you, she's outside." Rosalie started. Obviously Jasper was awake.

"What?" Jasper sounded weak, but outraged.

"I know, I know..."

"Why would you let her in?"

"She wanted to see you!"

"If _he_ finds out we'd had people over, Rose..."

"He won't!" Rosalie all but screamed.

"How did she even know our address?"

"I called her and told her."

"Rose!"

"Can't I do something nice for you for once?" There was a pause. Silence.

"This isn't part of the deal, and you know it." Said Jasper's voice, low but firm.

"Well, he hasn't hasn't been fulfilling his part of theal, now, has he?"

What deal? How could it be so bad that Bella was there? She felt a bit guilty because she was causing all that trouble, even if she hadn't known it was that bad. Hell, she'd been invited! There was another tense silence and then Rosalie spoke again, softer. Actually, it was the softest voice Bella had heard her use.

"Come on, she's already here...Do it for me?"

"...All right."

And so Rosalie came out again and Bella pretended not to have heard anything. It was a personal conversation and she should have put on headphones or something. But what's doneis done.

"Sorry you had to wait. You can come in now."

Bella quickly realised that the room she was being led to belonged not only to Jasper, but to both siblings. There were two clearly differentiated parts, and two beds. Weird. She'd seen enough bedrooms for them to have separate rooms, despite the house being small.

Jasper was sitting on the bed of the left, wearing a baggy shirt and zippered hoodie and sweatpants, and drew a small smile when Bella came in. He looked horrible. He was paler than usual and there was a dark bruise on his cheekbone, he had a split lip, and was cradling his left arm. But above all, he looked tired and yes, sick.

"I brought you some soup and crackers." Bella said and left them on his nightstand. She awkwardly sat on the chair in front of the bed, thinking of something to break the silence.

"You look like crap." It wasn't the best opening line, but it was something.

"I've been better. How was class this week? Anything interesting?"

And just like that, Bella started talking about Mike's incompetence in history, her many issues with math and the many mounting weirdnesses of Edward and his siblings. (But she tried to say good things about Alice, just in case there was something to be explored there) She felt at ease, comfortable. He was a great listener. But between anecdotes, Bella saw that when Jasper moved he winced, and realised that he wasn't just sick - he was injured. And then she thought of the jocks of school and how difficult it could be to be the new weird kid.

"Hey, is anyone giving you a hard time at school? Because I may not be able to do much, but I can talk to Emmett, ask him to scare off the bullies."

"It's not that." Jasper said. Avoiding the subject, as usual. Bella wasn't convinced.

"But you're hurt."

"I'm clumsy."

No, he wasn't. Bella had been clumsy all the years of her life and knew how it was, perfectly. Tripping with the stairs. Not knowing where your limbs ended, running into every doorframe imaginable. And Jasper was none of that. In fact, if there was something that the Hale twins shared (besides the blonde hair), it was _grace_. They moved with precision and elegance, almost like ballet dancers. No, Jasper, wasn't clumsy - he was being defensive. Hiding.

There was something else there, something big going on with Rosalie too and Bella was going to find out what it was. But she didn't know them enough to keep asking about it.

"Well, I should be heading out. But you take care, eh? I want to see you on Monday." Bella smiled.

"Thank you for the soup, Bella. It was very kind of you."

"What are friends for?"

And then, after some hesitation, he handed her a bit of paper.

"My number. In case you find something else wrong with the Cullen's that you need to share."

Bella smiled.

"You are so going to regret it. I'm going to text you at all hours of the day."

Jasper looks exhausted, but grateful. Still pale as hell, cooped up against the wall behind his bed. There's something very wrong with this picture.

"Bye, Bella."

"Bye."

On her way out, Bella talked a bit with Rosalie who seemed really happier than before, although she reminded Bella not to talk about her visit. Bella remembered that it had been Emmett who gave Rosalie her phone number, and asked if she was friends with her boyfriend's brother.

"Something like that. I'm playing hard to get."

Bella went home and started listing all the strange things that she'd seen. The lack of pictures or presence of the twins in all the house, except their room. The fact that they couldn't have anyone over. How Rosalie kept looking in every direction, as if afraid of being caught. Their conversation. Jasper claiming he was clumsy.

"Bye. Get better soon."

That very night, Bella did some research. She figured that Jasper wouldn't be very active on social media, but Rosalie had to be, to maintain that illusion of normalcy they had all bought. So, she asked Emmett, who was directed her ot Rosalie's twitter and instagram. Maybe there Bella could find a clue, something that would help understand the mystery of the Hale twins.

The twitter was as expected. Her username was BlondeGoddessRose and a lot of the tweets were things like "Yes, I'm a bitch. Better that than being a slave." or "If you can't handle the truth, then you can't handle me." Some surprising activism against sexual violence and violence against women, some song lyrics ("Survivor", "Beautiful" and so on) and then something specially interesting.

The previous november there had only been one tweet, that read: "I should have never accepted that deal. Never, never. #I'msorry" The deal, again. They had mentioned something about a deal when they thought Bella wasn't listening. And something about a he. The next tweet was much more cheerful and when asked why she was so happy, she replied "my brother got out of the hospital today :) :)" So Jasper had been hurt, badly, because of something that had to do with that deal. Interesting.

The Instagram was mostly selfies and outfit and make-up discussion, but there was a lack of family mentions in the page. No parents, no cousins, not even on christmas. The only member of the family that appeared was Jasper, in one picture when he got out of the hospital just captioned _#soluckytohaveyouback_ _#favoritenerd_ and in antoher one where they were smiling at the camera. That one had the subtitle_ "happy brithday to the most important person in my life - also to my brother. (Just kidding, I wouldn't even be alive if it wasn't for him. For a better year for both of us)"_. In the comment section, someone made of fun of Jasper's scars, and Rosalie wrote three venomous paragraphs defending her brother and degrading the commenter.

At 1 am, and after ignoring several calls from Edward, Bella reached some conclusions:

The facts were these: someone was hurting Jasper, there had been some deal (maybe to protect Rosalie and that was why she had no scars?), Rosalie was broken up about not protecting Jasper enough - in short, the Hales' home life was really scary.

Bella lay on her bed thinking about what to do. Tell her dad? What if she made matter worse? Tell the Cullens? Maybe Carlisle could help.

One thing was clear - she had to do something. She had to save them.

A/N: Long chapter! Hope you liked! Thank you to those who reviewed and please, keep telling me what you thought! Sorry for any english mistakes. All feedback very appreciated.

You know you want to review!


	3. Chapter 3

Edward was happy this year and his siblings were kind of happy too. He had been looking for someone to share his life, for someone to have a relationship like Carlisle and Esme had. He'd been alone for a very very long time, and felt that things were finally changing. He'd been drawn to Bella since she arrived, first because of her smell and then because of who she was. And she'd been nice enough to accept him, go out with him, despite his many oddities. Despite him being another species.

His family had accepted Bella as one of their own too, which was also good. They were hesitant at first, because they thought getting too close to a human couldn't end well. Carlisle was more accepting, because he'd been surrounded by humans for a long time and no accidents had happened (or not too many, at least). He also knew what it was like to be alone, and how love could improve your life exponentially. Carlisle was happy for him, like any father would.

Alice and Emmett hadn't been all that forthcoming with having a human around, even though they liked Bella. But they didn't like having to keep the secret, pretend to be human, be careful not to show your abilities. Living a lie, even in their alone time, off school. It was difficult because not only you had to control your strength or speed, but also what you said and did, you had to pretend you ate or sleep. Edward knew he would have to tell Bella eventually, but... he was taking it slow. And his siblings had changed their tunes, too.

Emmett was convinced that it was only a matter of time before Rosalie Hale, blonde new girl, said yes to going out with him. "She's just protecting herself". he said "making sure I'm not a moron or a pervert. But when she's convinced, I'm going to treat her to the best date she's ever had!"

And then there was Alice, who took longer, but was obviously crushing on the new boy, Rosalie's brother. She managed to ask Bella about him every time they saw each other, while trying not to be too obvious. But you didn't have to be a mind reader to know that there was something there.

So, the Cullens were happy. Even if so far, only Edward had succeeded in dating his object of desire, Alice and Emmett were happier too, looking forward to each day and to school in a way they hadn't in many years. But on Monday, when Edward went to high school, Bella seemed distracted, worried about something else. As if he and their relationship was the last thing on his mind. And Edward wanted to be there, wanted to be her first and last thought, wanted to be present, just as he was present on his mind.

Bella was still going over the events of Saturday. Jasper had come to class normally that day, and although his bruise was still present on his cheekbone, it was mostly hidden by the hair. And this was Biology and she was in biology and not paying attention to Edward. Better ask him something.

"Edward... if you knew something that looked bad, and could be... dangerous for someone, but it was very personal, and you didn't really know this person, what would yo do? Would you say something to someone else?"

Oh, boy. She knew. Edward was convinved that she knew. There was something dangerous (a.k.a they were vampires and could hurt other people) but it was very personal (it really was) and she should probably probably say something to someone else (a.k.a. her father)... No, this was bad.

"Maybe you should let them handle it, right? I mean this is a personal business of theirs, probably has been handled for years, in whatever way this people thought were appropiate."

"You think."

"You haven't been hurt, right?"

"Well, not me, but..."

"Let them be. And if things get more serious, then you can call someone."

Maybe he was right. Maybe she should leave Rosalie and Jasper to their deal and their bare house with a strict father that they only referred to as he or him.

And then on Wednesday something else happened. Something that landed them on the hospital.

They had p.e. that day, and were playing a too aggressive game of prison dodgeball. Bella had been lucky enough to avoid most balls thrown on her direction (well, maybe it wasn't just luck but Alice throwing all the balls away from her) and kept running to avoid more balls. The boys liked to throw it really strong, even if the teacher had told them to tone it down before somebody got hurt.

Balls started flying really fast and going really strong. Bella remained behind Alice, trying to go from corner to corner to avoid the main action. She really disliked PE because she was awful at sports and tripped with everything and two because. And those hormone-filled teenage boys throwing to hit weren't making things any better for her.

In the end, someone did get hurt. Not so surprisingly, it was Jasper. The poor soul.

There had been a fight with the balls where Josh Leung and Luke Sullivan threw increasingly angry balls at each other and one of the balls didn't hit his target. Josh moved very fast, and the ball hit the person behind him. Jasper fell with the force of the blow, facefirst, on the floor and let out a scream of pain. Bella and Alice werre there in a matter of seconds, worried.

Bella gently helped him up and saw that he'd split his lip, that was bleeding and his face scraped. He hissed in pain when he moved and she saw that his arm looked a bit weird and realised it was the arm that he'd been cradling on saturday. Alic took a few steps back at the sight of blood - it was tempting, so tempting and it smelled great. But no. Better to step back a bit. Let Bella handle it. She would have her time with him - she knew it, she'd seen it. She just had to wait.

Bella was trying to help Jasper standing up while the teacher approached.

"God, are you okay, kid? Are you in pain?"

"I think he landed on his arm and broke it." Bella said, still looking at Jasper, who hadn't uttered a single word, just stood there with pain-filled eyes that were getting brighter by the second."Can you move it?"

Jasper resignedly shook his head.

"Jesus, how fast was that ball going?" The teacher said, and Alice intervened.

"If that's true then the school nurse probably doesn't have enough material to treat him. Bella and I can take him to the hospital and I can call my dad so he'll be ready when we get there."

The teacher looked relieved, he'd been staring at Jasper's injuries mumbling things like "I could get sued for this", "His parents are going to kill me" and, more often "shit, kid".

"Yes, yes, you do that, Cullen. I'll take those two to the principal's office so that they are taken care of. Let's see if we can get at least Sullivan expelled for a few days." when the boy started to complain, the teacher became furious. "No, Sullivan, you don't get a word after you broke the arm of the most peaceful kid in all the fucking class, you be quiet and take what's coming to you."

Bella, Alice and the still quiet Jasper started leaving the room. Bella wanted to say something comforting, but couldn't find the words. She couldn't shake off the thought that Jasper's broken arm had more to do with his super-strict but strangely absent father than Luke Sullivan's ball. Jasper was obviously in a lot of pain but didn't complain. Didn't whine, nothing, just walked forward, and looked at nothing.

Alice kept her distances. His lip was still bleeding and she didn't want to lose it with them. She was better in the distance, helpful and efficient but not being too close. Just in case. She called her father to let them know they were coming. If Carlisle saw her and banged up kid arriving to the hospital he could get a wrong idea.

"Cullen!" The teacher called as they were leaving. "Keep me posted, okay?"

And with that they left. They were in Alice's very expensive and modern car in no time. With Alice driving like a bat out of hell and Bella trying to be useful.

Jasper didn't think of the pain. He could only think that a doctor was going to see him and ask all those questions. And he would have to say all those lies. To top it all, they didn't have any insurance here. _He_ hadn't wanted to renew it - and he wasn't going to want to pay for it, either. It was going to be horrible and he wasn't going to look like apathetic poor dude in front of Alice's dad, of all people. He just hoped the police wouldn't get involved.

The police, whose chief was the father of the girl currently cleaning the blood from his lip. God, he'd really screwed up choosing friends, hadn't he? A doctor and a cop. The people he hated the most. But Jasper hadn't known who Bella's father was. He'd only known that she chose him for pair assignments and was nice. She didn't talk much, didn't ask personal questions and was smart enough to keep up with him and understand his ironies. But she'd gotten too close. Visiting him at home, being the first to notice his arm was broken. She was going to find out.

And everything would go to hell.

"Do you want me to call Rosalie?" Bella said. It was the only thing she could think of that could lessen the look of pure sorrow on Jasper's pale eyes.

"Yes, thank you."

Those were the only words he said. Jasper was getting more and more anxious as they approached the hospital, as if he were afraid of the doctor. Odd, again. Carlisle met them, professional as always but warm, and ordered an x-ray for his arm. But when they were getting it, the doctor seemed deep in thought.

"You girls see how it happened?" the doctor asked.

"Yes" Alice said. "A kid hit him with a fast ball and he fell on his arm. Still, it didn't look that bad. Not bone-breaking bad."

"I think he was hurt before and the fall just made things worse." Bella added.

The arm was indeed broken, and there was a big bruise forming on Jasper's back, where the ball had hit him. But that wasn't the most disturbing thing. As he checked the boy over, Carlisle found dozens and dozens of scars of different shapes and sizes, in many different pats of his body. A lot of them in his neck and arms. Carlisle hadn't wanted to ask, as he could see the boy was really jumpy around him and seemed even scared. The subject would have to be approached in a sensitive way, possibly with some family around.

But after a hour and a half, only the sister had arrived. She'd came into the consult like a hurricane and held his brother's hand tightly, holding his gaze. Carlisle heard her whisper to him "He treat you good?" referring to the doctor. It was obvious they were very close. Bella and Alice were outside, with Emmett, who had driven Rosalie to the hospital, as she didn't know where it was. Nobody really knew what was happening inside.

Carlisle was calmly plastering the arm, while Jasper looked at the ceiling.

"You're being very brave, Jasper. I've had full grown people screaming in pain every time I touched with just sprains."

Jasper had cried a little, but nothing else. Just silent tears. Rosalie just smiled next to him.

"You are Rosalie, right? When are your parents coming?"

Jasper looked almost panicked at this but his siter calmed him.

"He's not coming, said we could handle this ourselves. And we can, so any questions you have, you can ask us. I've known Jasper longer, anyways."

How...? And then it dawned on Carlisle.

"So, you're adopted?"

"Yes." Rosalie held her head high. Ready this doctor and all the rutinary questions, and ill its lies for answers. She tried to be as truthful as posible, knowing that basis of a good lie is something related to the truth, but there were some things she couldn't tell. "Anything else?"

"What about the scars?"

"I got into a lot of fights when I lived in Texas." Jasper said, sounding suspiciously rehearsed. "And before that I was in a bad foster family. We were separated back then, that's why Rosalie has none."

"What about this burn on your arm and that bruise on your cheekbone? They are recent."

"Little accident in the kitchen. Jasper makes dinner every day and he doesn't understand this new kitchen we have too well. No one is hurting us. You've got nothing to report." Rosalie said. Better leave things clear.

Carlisle wasn't convinced but felt like he wasn't going anywhere further with them.

"Ok, tell the others to come in if they want."

"I'll be back, okay?" Rosalie said and left.

Bella and Alice came in. They talked a bit with Jasper, who was a bit groggy from painkillers and with Doctor Cullen. He looked at Bella fom time to time, as he too had noticed something strange about his patient. This was good, because this way Bella didn't have to say anything and feel like she betrayed his trust. Carlisle had probably figured out on his own, which was good. An adult could probably offer more help than her.

Carlisle had figured out that something was wrong, but knew that he couldn't do anything without evidence. The kids had cover stories, probably filled with details, to avoid dealing with concerned adults like him or th people from the CPS. And they were probably careful, paid attention to details. From the little contact he had with them, Carlisle could tell that the twins were smart. And they cared for each other (Rosalie had offered to pay for Jasper's treatment because they had no insurance, with the money she'd saved for a prom dress- before the doctor said all expenses were paid by him) which was good. Now, if he could only separate them from that absent father... Maybe inform chief Swan too, see what could be done.

When the twins were gone, Carlisle spoke to Bella and Alice about them.

"Girls... About your friends, I've noticed that Jasper flinchs a lot but doesn't scream out when in pain - a behaviour that could indicate abuse. Any of you two notice something strange in class?"

Bella spoke briefly about her visit, and the little things she noticed. Not everything, but enough to give Carlisle's suspicions better foundations. He told them about how he wanted to check on the man who was living with them, alone, but he the twins to be out so they could be out of danger. Alice loved the idea.

"Triple date! Bella can go with Edward, Emmett can ask Rosalie and I can provide Jasper with some company. Triple date!"

Sounded like a plan.

A/N: Thanks for reading so far! Hope you enjoyed! Would love to hear some feedback and thanks to my reviewers from the first chapters!

Reviews will make the group date come faster ^^


	4. Chapter 4

"I look terrible"

Jasper said as he looked at himself in the mirror. He was all scars, dark shadows and plaster. He had tried to look good on this outing with the Cullens and Bella, even asked Rose for help, but it seemed he was a hopeless case. He was forced to wear a tee because of his cast which was crap because he had a lot of scars on his forearms and there was a hole on the sole of one of his favourite boots.

"It's not that bad. You hair looks great today. You're almost as beautiful as I am, so that's not bad at all."

Rose looked great as usual. Red dress, black pants, perfect make up. Jasper had tried concealer one, for his dark shadows and scars, but his skin reacted badly so he was left looking... well, like he looked. But he was wearing all black, maybe he would get lost in the darkness of the movie theatre. Hopefully.

"Let's get going, or we're gonna be late."

By the time the Hales started to go to the meeting place, the Cullens were already in there. Alice was so excited you could almost see her jump. Edward wasn't all that happy. He'd wanted to surprise Bella with a romantic dinner for the two of them when they were dumped with this plan. What were they doing there anyway? If Emmett and Alice meet the twins on their own the plan could still be done. But there they were, and Emmett was wearing so much cologne it was ridiculous. Apparently, he and Bella were the only ones that hadn't dressed up even though it was just movie and maybe dinner in a burger place afterwards.

The Hales arrived on time, calm and collected. Rosalie looked like one of those celebrities that walked through New York pretending their outfit didn't take an hour to pick. Even if the clothes were simple, they emphasised her best features and were what everyone was wearing. She held her head high, looked with determination, lips painted red and heels sounding in the pavement. Jasper was the opposite, wearing nothing but black and hiding most of his face behind his blond hair. He also looked determined, but not nearly as confident as his sister. His was a more "let's get this over with" type of determination.

They got in the car after some hellos, and they headed to the movie theatre.

"So, ladies, what should we watch?" Emmett asked, looking at Rosalie.

"Is there something with superheroes? I love those movies."

"Really?" Bella said. She'd imagined Rosalie would be a romantic comedy and/or drama kind of person. Maybe stupid comedies. Something like that, the kind of thing that popular girls watched.

"Are you kidding me? There's action and romance and hot men wearing impossibly tight outfits. What's not to love?"

Alice looked at the silent blond next to her, tried to get him in the conversation.

"What about you, Jasper? Do you like superheroes?"

"Sure. I mean, it would be great to have that power, you know, to be able to strike back."

Strike back? Who was striking first?

Rosalie changed the subject to class and then they were all engrossed in why the history teacher had no idea and how obnoxious Sullivan and Anderson were. Before they knew it, they were already in the theatre, getting popcorn and tickets. Alice sat next to Jasper, even though he hadn't spoken since the car. She just wished he would be calmer near her, open up a bit. _Give it time, Alice, give it time. _

Carlisle arrived at the house where the Hales were living sometime after. He knew that if he said that he was a doctor concerned for his kid the man wasn't going to let him in, talk to him. So he needed to devise a plan. Something that would make the guy want him to go in, so he could see the house, assess the situation in which the kids were living in and maybe get to know their possible abuser.

It couldn't be anything about the kids, because if his suspicions were true, he probably only had them around to help with the house and have someone to shout at when he was angry. Someone to receive the blows. But these kind of people did have some common characteristics. For example, they didn't like spending money in anything but themselves. Maybe he could get him that way.

So, Carlisle invented a story about an extra tax on electricity that the mayor was rying to pass and how there was a group of neighbors fighting against it and he was let in.

The man that opened the door was unremarkable, another white man in his mid to late thirties wearing a non-descript brown tee and camouflage pants. But Carlisle's long experience as a doctor told him with just one more look that this man was also an alcoholic – not good news for the kids. Carlisle sat in the living room (and noted that, like Bella had mentioned, there was nothing that indicated the presence of two teenagers- except for some suspicious blood stain on the sofa) and tried to get a picture of this man's personality through his body language.

There was a lot of frustration and bottled up aggression in there, lot of fidgeting. A lot of violence in his words, even if it was just complaining about the town hall and moving to another city. Carlisle wondered how a man like had gotten kids in the foster system, when he was clearly unfit for raising them. There was no love, no affection, nothing. Just solitude and anger and disappointment. And resentment and bitterness against a world that he felt hadn't treated him properly. He was almost sure that he taking it out of the twins – but he hadn't even mentioned them.

"..I mean" Carlisle continued, trying to fish for a reaction "it's difficult to balance things, specially if you have a bunch of kids, like I do."

"Kids are nothing but trouble, I'm sure. Glad I got out of that one." The man, who had called himself Jeff although Carlisle was pretty sure it was a fake name, said, while finishing his beer can.

Whoa. One thing was not to mention that you had kids, and another to deny them completely. There was something fishy about this. Maybe that was why visits weren't allowed, why there was no trace of them on the house. Maybe they weren't supposed to be there. Maybe this man didn't have the twins legally. Of course, if they stopped going to school someone would have to investigate, but if not...

Carlisle asked to go to the bathroom, something he hadn't done in a long time, to see the rest of the house and see if he could find something else that could incriminate him. One of the rooms was closed tightly, what he suspected was the twins room. This was getting more strange by the minute. While on the bathroom, the scent of blood came to him and he went to look for its origin. Hidden in the back of a small white closet, behind some cleaning supplies, there was a bloodied golf club. Not only there was blood in it, but some blond hair, too. He'd beat the kids with it and didn't even bother to clean it afterwards. Bastard.

He wanted to talk to Charlie Swan about this, but was afraid of what that man could do to the kids if they didn't have enough evidence to hold him. So many things could be passed as accidents if the victims didn't want to talk. And the Hales seemed to have no intention of getting out of that situation, who knew why. Maybe they were scared of being separated, again. Maybe comparing it with other foster homes, this wasn't _so_ bad. The world could be really unfair.

He left the club where it was and got out, before the host got suspicious. He would go to Esme and devise a plan. Those kids needed to be out of that house, before something irreversible happened. As soon as possible.

Alice didn't pay attention to the movie, only ocasionally looked. She was drinking in the sight of Jasper, with his pale eyes directed to the screen, eating popcorn happily and wishing he was as the strong as the characters in the screen. Even with his jacket on, Alice could see a lot of scars. On his neck, on his jaw, on his face, even some on his hands. She wondered what had caused – she wondered how much they hurt. She wondered if Jasper had had someone to comfort him when he was hurt. Rosalie had mentioned that they'd been separated and that he'd been in a bad home. Alice wondered how bad it really had been.

Sometimes she wished she had Edward's gift instead of her own, so she could know more things about people without having to ask. To know their lives, their thoughts, their view on things. She'd be able to know so much more without sounding like a weird stalker. And she'd know what he thought of her. Because her visions weren't always reliable: sometimes a bad word or a weird look could completely alter what seemed like a certain future. Which could be a bummer.

Some seats to her left, she could obviously see that Rosalie was into her big brother, even if she was pretending not to. Good. Emmett could use some company, and Rosalie could proably also benefit from some good-natured jokes and romantic gestures. It seemed kind of impossible that they'd all started to go out with humans at the same time, but well. Statistical anomaly, she supposed. Anomaly was a word that defined them all pretty well. All her strange family.

"Did you like the movie?" Jasper said when they were going out, and Alice couldn't help grinning because he had spoken to her first.

"Yeah, it was great. I mean, who doesn't love a happy ending?" Alice said, smiling. He was speaking to heeeeeer.

"If only real life was as nice as that."

The conversation ended there, leaving Alice wishing for more. Why did he always seem so sad?

They talked about the movie on the way back, on the car. It had been longer than expected (Emmett had figured Rosalie would a rom com, which were marginally shorter) so there was no time for dinner. And the Hales were adamant on getting home on time. Or else. (They didn't say that last part, but it was clearly there – in the air.) There were some goodbyes, some see you soons and Rosalie blowed Emmett a kiss, making him even more smiley than usual.

And then they dropped Bella off at her place and it was time to discuss.

"What did you hear, Edward?"

"Not much, to be honest. They were both glad to be out of the house, but there wasn't anything specific. Jasper was worried about being weird so he thought about a lot conversation starters, but didn't speak. Not much in the movie, but when we were coming back they were worried about being late, seriously worried, specially Rosalie. She was worried that _he _would get angry and her brother was already hurt and still not recovered. She was also thinking of ways to sneak out and meet you, Em, but was worried of getting caught. And Jasper was more resigned to what was going to happen, inevitably. That's all I got."

"So, "he" is going to hurt Jasper tonight for being late, right? What if we call an anonymous tip to the police? If they don't know it's use, that man can't trace it back to them, and if he's caught in the act maybe they'll put him in jail, stop this."

"I don't know... Maybe we should call dad, see what he's found out. There has to be a reason why they haven't said anything, why they put up with all of this." Alice said.

"Bella said that they mentioned something about a deal." Edward commented.

When Carlisle got the call from the others and heard about what they thought was happening, he remembered the bloodied golf club and the blood stains of the sofa.

"I will call the police myself."

When, in the middle of the night, Bella heard that there was an anonymous call of a case of child abuse and had a feeling – this was why Rosalie and Jasper were so anxious. She needed to know they were fine, she needed to know that they hadn't got in trouble because of her the Cullens' meddling. It was almost a physical need.

"Please, can I at least go in the car, to make sure they're okay? Please, please, I'll be quiet, just wait in the car?"

Bella was growin more and more anxious as they went to the Hales' place on the squad car. What if the man had found out that she'd been there and that was why they got in trouble? What if one of them was badly hurt? What if...?

"You wait here." Her father said.

She wanted to and see what was going on, badly, but knew she had to stay. Until she heard her father's voice.

"Bella! Bella, come here!"

She didn't need to be told again.

The scene that greeted her on the house was terrifying. She gasped. The man who she figured was the dreaded "he" was still fighting her dad, trying to get away from her grip, while Rosalie, whose hair was bloodied, was trying to awake an unconscious Jasper, lying lifeless in the floor.

"Bella" Her father's voice shook her from her thoughts. "Can you stay with them while the ambulance comes? I need to take this bastard to the station."

Bella nodded, trying to function again.

"Sure, sure, of course, dad."

The man on her father's grip drew a manic smile.

"The deal's off, little lady! I am going to tell them everything! EVERYTHING! They'll lock you up and you'll never see your brother again! Never!"

Rosalie was crying, visibly affected, repeating her mantra over and over again.

"Wake up, Jasper. Just wake up. Please, wake up. Wake up."

A/N: Hope you liked! Looking forward to hearing your thoughts ;) Sorry for the mistakes, enlgish is not my first language!

Review and make an author happy! ^^


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